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Connect to Linux from Mac OS X by using Terminal

Last updated on: 2016-06-10

Authored by: Rose Contreras

If you use Mac OS X, you don’t need to install a third-party client like
PuTTY to connect to your cloud server via Secure Shell (SSH). Terminal
is a terminal emulation program included with Mac OS X that you can use
to run SSH.

Connect to the server

These instructions are for users who are connecting to a new cloud
server for the first time. If you’re connecting as a non-root user,
replace root in the instructions with your username.

Go to Applications > Utilities, and open Terminal.

A terminal window interface is displayed:

user00241 in ~MKD1JTF1G3->$

Establish an SSH connection to the server by using the following
syntax:

ssh root@IPaddress

Example:

MKD1JTF1G3->$ ssh root@166.76.69.51

The first time you connect to your server, a message asks if you
want to continue connecting. This message appears because your
server has an RSA key that is not stored in your system registry,
the identity of which cannot be verified.

The authenticity of host '198.61.208.131 (198.61.208.131)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is 47:ff:76:b4:211:0f:11:15:21:bd:92:2f:44:0a:d9:0a.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

Type yes and press Enter. This action adds the RSA key to
the list of known hosts. You will not see this warning again during
future connections.

Enter the root password for this server. The password does not echo
to the screen.

MKD1JTF1G3-$ ssh root@198.61.208.131
root@198.61.208.131's password:

If you entered the correct password, the prompt responds with a
shell prompt:

[root@yourservername ~]#

Change the root password

After your first login, change the root password.

At the shell prompt, enter the following command:

passwd

Change your password, as follows. The password does not echo to
the screen.

Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:

If the passwords match, you will receive the following confirmation
that the authentication tokens have been updated successfully:

Passwd: password updated successfully

Use the new password with the root user when you connect to your server.

Where to go from here

The next article shows you how to use Rescue Mode
to connect to your cloud server, which is useful when you are performing
troubleshooting and when your server becomes unresponsive.